


A Lovely Conspiracy

by WaffleChocobo



Category: Persona 5
Genre: F/M, Has A Plan, M/M, Nobody Suspects The Cat, Wingman Ann
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-03-01 09:12:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13291695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaffleChocobo/pseuds/WaffleChocobo
Summary: Christmas is approaching and Akira's returning home so Ann decides it time to make a plan to get some of her friends to finally admit they like eachother. Will it succeed or only result in heartbreak?





	1. Prologue A Meeting of Thieves

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CelinaEevee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelinaEevee/gifts).



Ann had a plan. It would take a little work but with some help, she was 90% sure that this would end all the dancing around each other, the love struck idiots in their group were doing. But first, she had to gather her allies. With a quick text, everybody agreed to meet at the buffet. Because all plans should be discussed over plates of cake.  
As soon as Ann arrived in the hotel Haru happily waved at her while Makoto awkwardly scanned the room.  
“Hi guys!” Ann happily greeted them as she approached. 

“Hello, Ann um why exactly are we here? You said it was urgent but your text was kind of cryptic?” Makoto questioned. Ann put a finger on her mouth.  
“Secrets are best discussed over food.” Ann pressed the elevator button as she replied.  
“Oh, of course it sounds so serious, like a mission!” Haru happily exclaimed as she followed Ann into the elevator.  
“I don’t understand, why you were so insistent about meeting up today, at a buffet of all places.” Makoto questioned again.  
“Aesthetics, Makoto, Aesthetics. Plus this place is the birth of the Phantom thieves so it just makes the most sense to talk here.” The elevator pinged then opened on the restaurant floor.  
“It’s nice to see each other again isn’t it Makoto? We haven’t really had time because of entrance exams.” Haru happily chirped killing any of Makoto's protests, for now at least.  
“Yes, It has been a bit I guess.” Makoto relaxed slightly. Ann capitalized on this, plopped her bag on a table and announced in her best imitation of Joker.  
“Alright gang, grab some grub and then we’ll start this secret meeting.” Makoto sighed still not on board quite yet while Haru nodded giggling a little bit at her impersonation. So Ann focused on Haru. Ann pretended to pull down a glove and pointed at Haru.

“Noir the first part of the mission is to grab cake for me.” Ann commanded with her best Joker impression.  
Haru saluted,“Yes, sir,” then walked off towards the tables of food.  
Makoto face palmed, shook her head as if to emphasize her disapproval but eventually she followed Haru to the buffet tables. When they returned their arms were full, it looked like they had grabbed almost every type of food the place had. Haru especially, looked like she was about to topple over. Ann would be more worried if she hadn’t seen her regularly carry giant bags of fertilizer at school. But Ann was a good friend so she took some plates from Haru any way, nobody commented on how she only took the ones with dessert. Once they distributed the food, Makoto started to lecture about healthy eating habits but Ann shushed her and motioned for them to huddle.

“So what’s this about? Are we planning a murder?” Haru whispered a little too excited for the subject matter. Makoto and Ann stared at her for a second but eventually Ann continued on.  
“No, though murder would probably be easi-.” Makoto’s stern look threw Ann off that train of thought.  
“Need I remind you murder is apprehensible! Not to mention illegal.” Makoto scoldingly whispered. Ann shrugged.  
“Relax Makoto It was a joke.”  
“Oh.” Haru whispered looking contemplative. Ann ignored that and returned the explaining the important reason they were there for.  
“Anyway, look we have a problem. Certain members of our little group are hopelessly in love but they keep running around each other and ignoring their feelings. So I’ve called this meeting of the Noir Panther Queens, to execute a plan to finally get them together.” Haru lit up at the idea and especially Ann’s naming decision. Makoto didn’t look as convinced as their fully haired friend. Makoto twitched then after a sigh looked straight at Ann with exasperation written all over her face.  
“Ann, first of all, who are you even talking about?” In response to that, Ann rolled her eyes and proceeded to state the obvious.  
“Akira and Ryuji, of course.”

Haru and Makoto nearly jumped out of their seats.  
“They-they like each other??!”  
“They’re not dating!??” Both of them exclaimed at the same time. Ann took it all in with a smirk. A gaudy looking woman at a table nearby shushed them before any one could say anything else though. They all mumbled apologies, then Ann put her hand on Haru’s shoulder.  
“Well anyway, it’s understandable you would think that Haru. It’s obvious. Even Yusuke,Yusuke! Has noticed they like each other.” Ann returned her hands to their scheming position in her lap as she finished speaking. Makoto cleared her throat.

“Well, even if that’s true. Akira is currently in his hometown. How could we possible engineer their relationship if we can’t even see one of them?” Ann shook one finger while clicking her tongue.  
“Makoto,Makoto,Makoto I have insider info that Akira’s coming back next week.” Ann twirled her phone then slapped it on the table.  
Makoto examines it with trepidation while Haru looked at it for a second then smiled knowingly.  
“Oh, so it’s true then how wonderful!” Haru exclaimed with a clap. Ann raised an eyebrow.  
“Oh how did this info leak to you?” Ann did her best to keep her tone as detective-like as possible. Gotta keep that aesthetic up after all.  
“I saw Futaba the other day and she mentioned that Akira might be coming back soon then laughed in a…very Futaba like way.” Haru explained. Ann could perfectly picture that, practically even hearing Futaba’s maniacal laugh in her head.  
“Well Futaba’s possible part in this aside, Ladies we have an opportunity, we just need a plan. Well to finalize one anyway.” That seemed to be the final nail in the coffin for Makoto as she nodded finally appearing to take this seriously. 

“All right, Ann let’s hear your plan.” Victoriously, Ann smirked and divulged her plan. The plan improved a bit under Makoto’s scrutiny and Haru’s quiet questions, by the end of their discussion Ann was feeling 200% confident about this working.  
“One more thing Ann, why lie to Futaba? Why not just include her at least? That would lower the risk of discovery immensely.” Makoto asked as Ann returned from her final dessert run. Hmm how to explain in a way Makoto would believe her. It was just a hunch really but since her time as a Phantom Thief Ann had learned to trust those. Well nothing ventured, nothing gained so Ann began to speak.

“Well you see-“ Haru cut her off.  
“Is it because you also want to set up her and Yusuke?” Makoto spit out her coffee.  
“What??!!” Ann handed her a napkin feeling slightly bad, Makoto had quite a couple shocks today apparently. Once Makoto was obviously not having a heart attack, Ann turned back to Haru in order to thank her.

“Why yes, Haru I was hoping to give them a little push too. But, I’m glad you think they like each other too.” Haru rubbed her hands together looking slightly nervous.  
“I um thought when you mentioned getting members of our group together earlier you were referring to them, honestly.” That shocked Ann a little, while she had some suspicions, she wasn’t nearly as sure about them as Haru seemed to be. 

“So you think they got it bad, huh? Why?” Ann leaned further in giving Haru center stage.  
“Well I don’t know if I should really—“ Haru seemed rather unsure. So Ann locked eyes with Makoto and smiled.  
“Don’t worry we can keep a secret can’t we, Makoto?” Makoto nodded and attempted to pretend she wasn’t interested with an annoyed sigh but Ann noticed that curious glint in her eyes.  
“Oh alright then it started last week, I was visiting Leblanc. Futaba was there and I accidentally got a look at her phone. She was texting Yusuke trying to convince him to go shopping with her. It was cute, so I made a remark about how she and Yusuke seemed so close, if I didn’t know better I would think there dating. Futaba then froze and stopped responding for a very long time.” Haru paused her story for a moment with a worried frown.

“When Futaba finally spoke again she screamed they weren’t dating with very red cheeks, swore then ran off home.” Haru finished her story.  
“Are you sure that’s enough proof they like each other?” Makoto questioned, apparently her skepticism had begun to sink back in.  
“Makoto weren’t you listening that was concrete proof.” Ann countered with a smile things were coming together nicely.  
“So should we add then to the plan?” Haru asked quietly.

Ann nodded then conspiratorially rubbed her hands together.  
“Yesssss.”Ann hissed this plan was going to be better than she first thought. Makoto sent Ann a quizzical look but didn’t voice any other protest. After a quick revision for the nerdy art duo and their bellies practically too stuffed to move. The newly dubbed Noir Panther Queens went there separate ways. The plan was perfect and she couldn’t wait till it was time to execute it. As she walked to the train station Ann’s could only come up with two worries really, how to pay Haru back for the food and the ways someone might spill the beans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a Secret Santa that spiraled out of control, hope you enjoy it.


	2. Akira's back in town

Ryuji was never good at waiting. It was aggravating and filled him with the urge to run, or just do anything other then waiting. He had more control over these then when he was a kid but it was still hard especially since he couldn’t rush this. A part of him wished the Phantom Thieves were still a thing, waiting felt better when there was a goal or at least something he could do. Ryuji, sighed, he was happy the Phantom Thieves were successful he just missed the feeling of having a cause besides that thought was pretty stupid, even if he could summon his persona none of his skills could speed up time.

Akira was finally coming back today. It felt unreal. In fact Ryuji really wasn’t sure how Sojiro even got custody. Ryuji had asked when he was told the news but Sojiro stroked his beard mumbling something about old contacts while Futaba laughed manically in the corner. He’d have been more creeped out if they weren’t friends. Either way he decided to just accept this for what it was, fucking awesome.  
Man he couldn’t wait, maybe he could—“Hey Ryujiii, who are thinking about?” Ann spoke as she suddenly popped up behind him.

Ryuji glared at her, “Damn Ann, can’t you give a guy a break?” She giggled and swung an arm around his shoulder.  
Ryuji sighed. “Don’t you know its rude to sneak up on people?” Ann shrugged.  
“Don’t you know its rude to not answer peoples questions?” Ryuji rolled his eyes. He really regretted telling Ann about his dumb crush. Nothing good was gonna come from this. Especially with the way she’d been smiling at him recently. It was waaay to happy.

“I wasn’t thinkin about anybody.” Ryuji mumbled. Ann laughed, “Oh really, I think thats a lie, I bet you were thinking about—“ A text tone caught Ann’s attention. Ryuji sighed in relief, he did not like where that conversation was going. He was debating about wether or not just running off was an option when Ann asked still looking at her phone. “Hey Ryuji, your not busy are you?”  
He shrugged,”Depends, I guess.”  
Ann typed something as she said,”So Haru needs some help with her flowers, I have a photo shoot so mind heading over and helping her out?” Ryuji agreed to it immediately, helping Haru was way better then listening to Ann’s ideas about his love life.  
Ann ran off as suddenly as she appeared screaming,“Cool thanks, See Ya.” So Ryuji sticking to his word texted Haru.

**Hey, Ann said you needed help?**  
**Oh, Yes. I do.**  
**Where r u at?**  
**My greenhouse.**

Ryuji thought it was a little strange that Haru didn’t attempt to blow him off or send a thank you text but hey maybe she was finally getting used to being friends. So he pushed that thought aside and headed to the train station. Haru’s greenhouse wasn’t that far away, It was in a residential area only a couple stops before Yongen. He was already gonna have to head this direction anyway. After a quick walk from the station Ryuji found the building he was looking for. It was easy to spot. Unlike any of the building around it, the whole thing was made of foggy glass so from outside the walls looked like instead of painting it, Haru had a paintball fight inside it.  
Ryuji knocked as he peaked his head inside, “Haru?” There was no answer, so like usual Ryuji shoved his hands into his pockets and sauntered inside. Ryuji scanned the room for a second but quickly spotted brown among the forest of colors. She was pretty easy to spot after months of scanning palaces for shadows. (He was glad that at least some of his skills as a phantom thief stayed with him.)  
“Yo Haru, what’s today’s weight?” Haru stood up and dusted herself off.  
“Hello, Ryuji! Don’t worry there’s only a couple bags of fertilizers left.” Ryuji nodded bracing himself for the weight. He was glad that she was correct about it only being a couple bags. As they carried them inside Haru nearly jumped.

  
"What?" Ryuji looked Haru over, worried. It wasn't often she just stopped out of nowhere like this.  
"I just remembered I promised to make a bouquet for Akira's homecoming tonight." Haru repositioned her giant bag of fertilizer so only the top of her head was visible and ran inside. It took Ryuji a minute to follow her and when he finally got inside Haru was frantically running around examining different flowers which apparently were not the ones she wanted.  
"You need some-uh, some help?" Ryuji asked rubbing his head not sure how much help he could actually be. Flowers were not really his thing. Haru stopped in her tracks looked up at him paused to consider something then finally nodded.

  
"That would be great, I'll pick some and you can choose which ones you'd think Akira would like best." She smiled and ran up to the second level before Ryuji could protest. Well, Ryuji really hoped he didn't screw this up. She came down arms bursting with flowers. Several roses and a couple other types Ryuji couldn't recognize.  
"Here choose a color to start." Haru shoved the flowers towards him. He took a minute to examine them mostly to give Haru the impression that he was taking this seriously. Though there really wasn't much of a debate. Ryuji picked up the red ruffled flower.  
"I Think he'd liked this one." Haru nodded enthusiastically.  
"Ah a Red Carnation, I think he would as well." Haru put down the rejects to grab the flower he chose and began comparing it to others in her garden.  
"I think one of these would compliment it nicely." Haru returned her arms full of multicolored roses this time.  
"Ain't roses a confession?" Ryuji lifted an eyebrow.

  
Haru tilted her head, "Red Roses do but depending on the color they can mean a variety of things for example," Haru held up a yellow rose. "This Rose can mean friendship or welcome back." Huh, Ryuji knew flowers could mean stuff but he didn't know it was that complicated.  
"Well shouldn't we give him one of those then, ya know they are celebrating his return and stuff." Ryuji felt like he was stating the obvious but simply Haru agreed with him and didn't point it out. She was nice like that.  
"Hmm I think we need one more flower to balance out the colors." Haru mumbled to herself as she picked armfuls of the flowers they had already chosen.  
"Where are you gonna put those?" Ryuji finally asked cause there wasn't a whole lot of space on the floor or any other furniture and he was feeling awkward just standing there doing nothing. Haru paused and turned toward the back door.

  
“Oh I'm sorry, I hadn't thought of that. There is a fold up table I keep in the tool shed, if it's not to much trouble could you grab it for me? I'll be sure to have all of this done when you get back.” Haru said with a surprising amount of determination. Ryuji shrugged.  
"Its not a big deal, plus I'm here to help." Ryuji said while he walked out the back door. It took some maneuvering around random some slightly sharp looking garden tools to find the table. For someone so put together Haru could be pretty disorganized. He hauled it through the door to find that Haru had like she had promised finished up gathering all the parts she needed for the bouquet. Once the table was set up, it quickly was taken over by flowers like the rest of the house.  
"So I think a cooler color would really bring it all together. Which one do you think is better?" Haru suddenly shoved two roses into his face so close they almost touched his eyes. It was a pinkish one or a purpleish one. Well as much as pink might be Haru's thing for some reason the purple seemed more Akiray. With that final decision made Haru happily went about crafting a bouquet, Ryuji mostly just held stuff.

  
"So does everybody just know Akira's coming back? I thought well, he sounded like it was a surprise." Ryuji wasn't sure how much he could judge, cause he had told Ann after all but Haru didn't know that.  
"Well, Futaba told me about when I visited last, I didn't mean to spoil any surprises but we can always pretend like we don't know." Ryuji thought about that then looked at the flowers.  
"But wouldn't it be weird to have a bouquet if it's supposed to be a surprise?" Haru seemed to consider this.  
"Thats true well..."Haru frowned. Ryuji shrugged and then leaned back against the table, "Well push comes to shove we can always say Futaba spoiled the surprise, and distract him with gifts." Haru perked up at his suggestion went back to work. As she was putting on the finished touches, her phone beeped and whatever text she got made her nearly drop the thing.  
"Oh No!" Haru screamed which caused Ryuji to almost fall over, then she scrambled about looking for something.  
"Woah! Hey Whats wrong?" Ryuji approached her concerned.  
"Futaba wanted this tonight but I forgot I had a meeting soon. I don't know if I'll be able to make it." Haru seemed really distressed, so Ryuji double checked the time, his Mom wouldn't expect him home for a bit.

  
"I can drop it off for ya." Ryuji offered. Haru looked at him as if he had just saved her from a failing grade.  
"Oh Thank you, I'm sorry you came to help and I keep piling on more work. I'll buy you lunch next time and help you study promise!" She said hurriedly shoving the flowers into a his hand and shoving him out the door.  
"It's fine, it's what friends do." Ryuji tried to say but she was already down the street before he could finish his sentence.  
With nothing else to really do Ryuji wandered back to the station and made his way down the familiar path to Leblanc. Ryuji opened the door without really thinking about it, then immediately regretted it. Standing behind the counter as if he had never left was Akira. Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, was the only thought going through Ryuji's head. Especially since he had accidentally made eye contact.

  
"Uhh Hi." Ryuji finally managed to get out. Akira laughed at him, the pretty bastard.  
"Been awhile, wasn't expecting to see you so soon after I got here.” Akira said once he was finally finished laughing. Ryuji slouched down and purposely looked away.  
"Haru asked me to drop off somethin." Ryuji mumbled. Akira leaned forward over the counter in order to hear better. Ryuji really wished he hadn't cause it was really hard to look away when Akira's eye weren't covered by glasses. Luckily, Futaba burst into the room from somewhere.  
"YOUR LATE!" Futaba screamed causing the tides to change as Akira face planted into the bar. Ryuji laughed at him in response, it only lasted a few seconds until Futaba's own giggles disappeared and she turned to glare at Ryuji. He couldn't really figure out why though.  
"Your Late." Futaba repeated unhelpfully.

  
"Uhh I don't know what your talking about." Ryuji backed up a little. Futaba pointed at the bouquet in his hand instead of responding.  
"Oh Yeah. I helped Haru make that and uh agreed to uh give it deliver it for her cause she was busy." Ryuji glanced between them as he spoke, Futaba never lost her annoyed expression while Akira smirked amused by the situation. Futaba only stared at him for what felt like forever then she sighed and face palmed.  
Futaba motioned to Akira with her arms, "Your here to deliver it right,So deliver it?" Oh. Ryuji wasn't really expecting to be the one to hand the flowers over that seemed like a thing for Ann or something but it was a gift and well he had agreed to do this kinda. So Ryuji did a slow nod and walked towards Akira.  
“Here," Ryuji handed the flowers over the bar, "I think this was supposed to be more of uh surprise but hey Haru and I made you a bouquet. So uh Welcome back?” Akira carefully picked them up and examined them closely as if looking for a message. Oh yeah, he worked at a flower shop so he probably knows what they mean but before Ryuji could consider that train of thought more Futaba spoke up again.

  
"Didn't Haru make this bouquet Why are you trying to claim some credit? OOOO," She gripped his shoulder and a mischievous all knowing smile appeared on her face. That never meant anything good.  
"Is there something you wanna let Akira?” Futaba leaned in closer then finished with a whisper. “Like that you like him?”  
"DUDE No...I uh just, Haru needed help liftin some fertilizer and wanted me to help choose the flowers and stuff. Its nothing but a gift. I didn't wanna say nothing." Futaba didn't seemed convinced by any of his stuttering explanation. Which was fair he didn't think he would be either. So Ryuji quickly decided to change the subject.  
"Tomorrow." They both looked up at him confused, "Since your back and stuff wanna do something tomorrow?"  
Akira smiled. "Yeah that sounds nice, though I do need to study though." Ryuji understood that, he probably did too.  
"We could always go to the diner and study or something." He offered.

  
"Yeah but don't we usually get distracted and never get much done?" Akira brought up but Ryuji just shrugged it off.  
"Nobody can say we didn't at least get some studying done though." Akira couldn't seem to bring up an argument with that.  
"Alright, yeah lets study at the dinner tomorrow. Even if we don't get anything done, i've missed hanging out." They agreed to meet up at 5 the next day and Ryuji looked at the time, it was late. He had stayed longer than he had thought.  
"Sorry man, I can't stay any longer gotta get home." Ryuji began walking out when Akira called his name.  
"Ryuji, I almost forgot, thanks for the flowers I think you made some excellent choices.” Akira said with a smile. Ryuji rubbed his head in response, "Eh thanks, though Haru did most of the work you should really thank her."  
"I will." Akira replied.  
"Well, see you tomorrow." Ryuji said as he walked out the door.  
"See you tomorrow." Akira replied as Futaba laughed about something.

\----------

A couple hours later in a restaurant a few doors...  
"And thats about it really." Morgana finished his report.  
"Thank you Morgana." Ann pet him as she spoke.  
"I hope this doesn't ruin the plan, I just thought since Futaba said he'd be in early I'd be a nice idea." Haru apologetically explained.  
"No, its brilliant we can work with this." Ann examined there list again.  
"This study dinner shouldn't effect much though, do you think we should give Futaba and Yusuke an extra push too?" Makoto said while looking over the plan for any potential flaws.  
"Yeah that'd be good got any ideas?" Ann asked the table. "I better get sushi for this," Morgana whined.  
"Of course, there will be lots of sushi for our fluffy spy." Ann smiled then they all went back to work.


	3. In which there is NOT a date

Akira was confused, which was not really new but still. Ryuji had given him flowers. Which while not a strange welcome home gift, it was not a typical Ryuji gift. Well they were from Haru too. But that only complicated things more. Ryuji chose those flowers apparently. Did Haru tell him what they meant? She had to know, right? Was he even supposed to think this hard about a bouquet of stupid flowers? Probably not, but his brain refused to stop going over the possibilities. A snap caused Akira to jump back to reality.  
“Hey, brat focus. I know you’ve got a date tonight but there’s work to be done.” Sojiro reprimanded as he brewed a cup of coffee.  
“I don’t know what Info Futaba’s been feeding you but I don’t have a date tonight. I’m just studying... with a friend.” Akira made an effort to roll his eyes but refused to make eye contact as he pulled on a apron incase Sojiro spotted something. There was nothing going on but he didn’t need to give them more ideas.  
“Whatever helps you get through your shift, kid.” Sojiro hands him a wash cloth.  
“Though dates sure have gotten lame, back in my day we’d at least go to a movie first.” Akira threw his cloth at him in response.  
“Shut it, old man I thought you wanted to work.” Sojiro shook his head as he used the previously thrown towel to clean the counter. Akira started sorting the new stock of coffee beans, as the first customers streamed in. Leblanc was far more busy now then when he left. It was really impressive what a few recommendations from an attorney and magazine article could do. Though to Akira’s eternal gratitude the tables were filled but the cafe was still fairly calm, chatter was more frequent but the nice atmosphere of the little cafe hadn't been drowned out by it. The rest of his shift went by in a pleasant blur until the bell rang as another customer entered the cafe.  
"Welcome to Leblanc." Akira said with his best customer service smile, until he saw who it was. A few of his friends were sauntering in.  
"Oh its just you guys." Akira says then goes back to fake cleaning a table. Ann mocks offense while Yusuke doesn't seem to get the joke and Futaba ignores him to slide into a bar seat.  
"Rude. Why did we want you back again?" Ann haughtily waves as she sits next to Futaba because their usual booth is occupied.  
"I don't understand weren't you complaining just a few weeks ago about how you mi--" Yusuke's question was cut off by Ann's shushing hands. Before she could renew her campaign of fake offensiveness Akira slid her a cup of coffee. She pursed her lips but took a sip.  
"Ah, This is why we wanted you back." Ann tried to sound uptight but her voice was far too happy for anyone to buy it. Akira smiled and slipped everyone else their drinks.  
"I don't know why you wanted this guy back for coffee, there are better brews then his." Sojiro joked as he re-emerged from the back room. Futaba held up a hand and spoke in the deepest register her voice could go "A coffee cup with character has more taste then a perfect brew--Ancient Chinese proverb." Sojiro squinted at her.  
"What are you talking about?" Futaba shrugged, "Who knows? I saw it online, it's probably fake." Ann cut off that line of conversation before it could get anything farther and Akira was almost grateful until he heard what she replaced it with.  
"Akira's coffee abilities aside were here to catch up, so Akira got any plans now that your back in town?" Ann did her best to seem innocent but it was obvious she knew and how she knew was pretty easy to guess. This was a trap but luckily he used to be a thief so slipping by this obstacle should be easy.  
"Nothing really, just getting back into the regular routine though I am studying with Ryuji tonight." Akira looked at Futaba without blinking while he explained it all. She ignored him and took another sip of coffee as if it would make her seem more innocent.  
"Oo, that should be fun." Ann says with a smile that implies something, something Akira has been avoiding thinking about.  
"Well it is Friday night, date night." Sojiro lightly jabs Akira's side before turning his attention back to the curry pot.  
"Oh yes, a date with studying and steak. I'm sure my medical textbooks will really spice up the mood." Akira made sure every word was dripping with excess amounts of sarcasm. So much sarcasm that there no way it could be taken any other way. or so he hoped. Ann twirled fingers and fidgeted with her hair as she replied.  
"I don't know, something mundane can become romantic with the right company don't you think, boss?"  
Akira groaned over Sojiro's first couple attempts at speaking. An old woman's laugh silenced them all.  
"Oh dear, I'm sorry it's just your conversation reminded me of how I met my wife." Everyone turned around to look at the old lady and were quickly reminded of the other customers, who all looked some variety of amused at the whole situation.  
"Your married?" Sojiro asked the lady who laughed again.  
"Oh, its a story but I am afraid it will have to be told another time." The lady hands Sojiro money for her coffee and turns to Akira with a warm smile.  
"I hope you have a nice date, young man. Though if this pans out like I am sure it will, I demand an invitation to your wedding." She was out the door before Akira could respond. The cafe filled with laughter as Akira sighed and wished this shift would just end.  
The rest of day was quieter everyone seeming got out most of their urge to make fun of him, so his shift went by pretty fast. 5 o'clock quickly approached and soon the door opened with a ring, signaling Ryuji's entrance.  
"Yo dude, Ready to go?" Akira grabbed his stuff and pushed all of the previous conversations out of his head. This was just studying, it was normal they had done it so many times.  
"Of course, let's get down to business." Ryuji laughed. It always sounds nice when he does that.  
"Dude, you make it sound so serious." With that they were out the door, the bell ringing again to signal their exit.

The walk to the diner was filled with small talk and reminiscing past thefts. It was nice but it would have nicer if his brain wasn’t determined to overanalyze Ryuji’s every word and action. The sun’s angle really made Ryuji’s face light up and his hair look like it was made of downy feathers. Akira wondered what it felt like. Thankfully though, he was used to tamping down or ignoring his urges to mess with the very fluffy looking mop of blonde hair on the others head among other things.  
“So what are your gonna get?” Ryuji asked as they sat down. Akira stroked his cheek, “haven’t decided. You?” Ryuji slid him a menu and tossed his to the side.  
“Steak.” Of course.  
“Well I’m not a leader anymore, so guess I’ll just follow you.” Akira shrugged pretending not to notice the slight change in Ryuji’s face and the whispered dude he got in response.  
His usual waitress eventually came over to get their order, she winked at him as she left. Why did everyone keep making assumptions like that? He groaned but thankfully Ryuji hadn’t put it together. They were pulling out there books when a strange title caught Akira’s eye.  
“Criminology 101?” Akira read aloud, “that yours?”  
Ryuji nodded as he finished pulling out the rest of his books.  
“Is that for a class?” Akira scanned his brain trying to find a class that would need a book like that.  
“Naw dude it’s just research.” Akira blinked.  
“Research?” Ryuji looked slightly offended.  
“Yeah dude I read sometimes, ok?” His bag started a rebuttal about Ryuji’s reading ability but his elbow shut that up real quick.  
“I never doubted that you read, usually though what you read is less educational and more action, manga… stuff.” Akira wasn’t super happy with the rushed wording but it seemed to get his point across because Ryuji’s scowl began to disappear.

"Well, it's senior year." Ryuji replied as if that explained everything.  
"Ah so you've been going over options, huh?"Akira joked.   
"I was considering just not botherin, but I had a talk with Mom and Stuff and uh realized I'd like to continue helping people get justice, yeah know?" Ryuji rubbed his head as he explained. As if somehow that was embarrassing to admit.  
"Planning on being an officer or you gonna go the lawyer route?" Ryuji recoiled back at that.  
"Naw dude, I'm not smart enough to be a lawyer." Akira stroked his chin doing his best to appear deep in thought.  
"I don't know. I think you could be, especially if it's for a specific goal like that." Ryuji blushed a bit at the praise.  
"Thanks dude, but I think I'm just gonna aim for cop." Ryuji turned his attention to the book.   
"You borrow that from Makoto?" Akira enquired as Ryuji attempted to organize his pile of books.  
"Yeah she's helping me study since I decided and you know,"Ryuji putted the criminology book away as if he was ashamed of it. Akira felt bad about that.  
"Nice, I think it fits you," Akira replied then to his dismay more words came out. "Plus I've always liked a man in uniform." Ryuji laughed at that, luckily it seemed he toke it as a joke. Which calmed some of wave of panic that had taken over Akira’s entire being.   
"Thanks, everybody else seems to think it's weird," Ryuji turned his full attention to Akira,"you got any plans for the future?" Akira hadn't thought about the future much but it surprised by how quick a concrete idea formed in his head. Maybe it due to the pressure of Ryuji intently staring at him but he honestly was trying not to think about it.  
“A doctor,” it sounded right as he said it, “I think I’d like to be a doctor.” He had been studying some medical books mostly because he had been talking to Tae and planning to help her out more but it seemed like a good choice. Ryuji’s face scrunched up in confusion and titled his head looking even more like a puppy then usual.  
“I thought you were gonna take over Leblanc?” Akira shrugged.  
“I can do both.” He thought about it even more and a silly idea popped into his head.  
“I could turn cafe into a cafe and a clinic.” Sojiro would scream if that ever happened. Ryuji giggled.  
“Dude, thats weird but I think doing both fits you perfectly. Your always doing way more then everyone else.” Akira leaned in with a smirk.  
“Besides with you and Makoto off saving the world someones gonna have to patch you up.” It was only for a second but he swore Ryuji’s face was red.

They soon sadly turned their attention to actually studying. Surprisingly they managed to cover a lot of ground with only minimal sass from the cat in the bag.  
Though the waitress kept awkwardly asking how their date was doing. Akira emphasized that their STUDY date was going great. 

\-----------  
The next morning outside of a sushi bar, a conspiracy reconvened. A group of girls were gathered around a cat meowing constantly.  
“Ugh…How do these idiots go on a date and somehow still not realize they like each other?!” Ann groaned, when the cat paused it’s meows. Futaba laughed a little before quietly adding, “There both so oblivious I’d call it amazing, if it wasn’t so annoying.”  
Ann huffed and stomped her feet. The cat, Morgana held out his paws expectantly. Haru dangled a pair of chopsticks with a tasty tuna sushi clenched between them in front of him. The cat happily meowed as Makoto coughed to gain the others attention.  
“This is concerning but we haven’t encountered a complete set back yet. Besides Christmas shopping is next.” They all nodded and seemed reinvigorated. Ann pumped her fist in the air, “Yeah and I’ll be there to make sure everything goes perfectly!” Morgana perked up at that.  
“Lady Ann’s coming?” She nodded and with a devious smirk replied, “Yep this time, were gonna be partners in crime.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this was good. Sorry i'm not used to writing romance stuff.


	4. The Secondary pair goes to space

Futaba really wanted to play video games. No, that wasn't right Futaba wanted to play a specific video game. Okami, a game she could have sworn she owned but could not find anywhere. So this called for a supply run. She walked down the street to Leblanc but couldn't find Akira. So she pulled out her phone and texted him.

 **Hey I need to go to Akihabara, Where are you?**  


**Sorry Can't help, Im shopping with ryuji and ann right now**

Well that was option was out. There had been too much planning gone into getting Akira and Ryuji on that trip.  


**Unless its super important?**

Well, she couldn't really interrupt that so Futaba switched over to the group chat.  


**Need to go Akihabara, anyone free?**  


**Sorry I'm at a modeling gig right now, though isn't Yusuke free?**  


**I don't appreciate being volunteered but you are correct I am not currently busy.**  


**Alright then, Inari meet me at the station we have shopping to do!**  
Riding the train was still nerve wracking but with a goal in mind she could almost ignore the other people. Almost. Quickly pulling out her phone and started checking on Twitter while she counted her stops.

Futaba was glad, they didn’t live too far away from Akihabara. When she could no longer focus or ignore people. Futaba pretended to summon Prometheus and glanced around assigning stats to all the other passengers. She felt better when people were boiled down to numbers. They were predictable, capable of change yes but easy to comprehend if you worked at it. Luckily, she only had to wait 2 more stops. Futaba exited the train and began her search for Inari. She spotted him from several feet away, his lanky limbs and blue hair made it impossible for anyone to miss him.

“Oi, Inari!” Futaba waved as she approached.  
“Hello,” he greeted then pointed at the exit and asked.  
“Is that where we’re headed?” Futaba nodded then grinned.  
“Don’t worry, Oracle knows the way.” Inari bit his lip.  
“Reassuring.” His voice not matching his word choice but she ignored that and grabbed Inari‘s hand to drag him toward their destination. They walked past the maid cafe and the many rows of very tempting gachapon machines to the side streets. What she needed wouldn’t be found on the main road.  
“Why are we here? Wouldn’t what you need be back there?” Inari asked. Futaba sighed and decided it was time to finally debrief her partner in crime.  
“Nope what I need is old, those stores only sell new games.” Inari raised his eyebrows in response.  
“Were here for some kind of game?” Futaba nodded.

“Don’t give me that tude, it’s a very important game,” she holds up her phone with a picture of the games cover for him to see. “Plus I think you’d like it, you can draw in it.” Inari leaned down real close to her phone to examine the cover better. He slowly nodded as his eyes intently examined the inked wolf on the cover. Futaba couldn’t look away. Inari’s hair fell in front of his eyes but even that couldn’t tear away his gaze from what he was examining. He looked nice she would almost, almost use the word pretty. Almost. This whole situation must have been super embarrassing because she felt her face heat up. Thankfully, he’d finally finished examining the games cover.  
“Well that certainly does seem intriguing but it’s composition is a bit messy-uh Futaba?” Inari leaned even closer, “Are you okay?”  
Futaba nodded and frantically motioned with her hands because for some reason her brain was refusing to produce words. 

“I’m f-fine it’s just really warm today!” She said when her mouth finally worked. Inari stood up closed his eyes and held up his hands to the air. With a sound of agreement he nodded his head.  
“Need. Look. Game.” She began to drag him toward the second hand shops. They started in a shop called Neet Ni-Te. The shop had a variety of different items mostly related to video games or anime but she ignored all of that and focused on the shelves towards the back. Hopefully they would have what she needed. Unlike a chain store none of the shelves were very organized. So it took her, longer than she would have liked to but success was achieved. Futaba cackled and held up the ps2 games red case. She caressed the games title that spelled out Okami for a second before shakily standing up. Futaba scanned the small shop for Inari. He was in another corner skimming through books. 

“Inari!” Futaba called out holding up her find. He didn’t seem to hear her, so she tip-toed up to try and get a look at what held his attention. It was an art book for a game she couldn’t quite place. Inari was currently looking art spread in the desert. She didn’t get to look too hard at it though because Inari finally noticed her presence. He jumped back on reflex. This in turn knocked Futaba over. It hurt but only for a second. Once the pain went away she examined the store really hoping nothing broke in her fall. Futaba didn't have a whole lot of spending money to cover too much damage.  
"Apologies, I was absorbed in examining this book, it's rather strange. There is landscapes and characters but they seem to be just thrown in here at random with no purpose." Inari offered her a hand to stand back up as he explained his new fixation. Futaba took another glance at it.  
"Well duh, its an artbook." Inari looked at her as if that was obvious.  
"Its an artbook for a video game. It's showing different concepts and preliminary ideas for the game." Futaba clarified before he could say anything else. Inari gave the book another look over then held it up as if she'd just said that was a book on lobsters or something.  
"These pleasing landscapes were produced for a game?" He obviously thought she was joking. Well, this was a problem she knew Inari was stupid but not this stupid.  
She grabbed the book, then dragged Inari to the check out counter. 

"I'll take this game and this book. If you have the game that goes with it that would also be great." The old man blinked in response and yawned as if only now just noticing he had costumers.  
"Alright that'll be 4,000 yen and I currently don't have Journey in stock but I think you can still buy the digital store, I'm sure, Miss." Futaba let out a tsk as she handed over the money, not quite what she wanted but it would do. He wrapped the items in paper then with a started smile said, "Thank you for your business, Have a nice date!" Futaba turned red as Inari corrected the man that it was not a date. They both quickly ran out the door before the man could say anything else.  
"So lets grabs some snacks then its game time." Futaba declared after a couple coughs to clear the mood.  
"Well I hope you enjoy that but I should be going." Inari turned to leave but Futaba slid in front of him and holding out both her hands.  
"Nope." Futaba sent him her most serious glare.  
"Nope?" Inari looked very confused.

"You insulted my favorite form of art. Which told me your in need of an education, So grab some Jagarico and Lets go!" He still seemed confused, but the promise of food enticed him to follow. They raided the connivence store and made there way back to Leblanc. Without a second thought, she took over Akira's room and pulled out the ps2 she had bought him earlier. Plopped the disc in and flopped down on the couch. As the title screen began to play she noticed Inari was awkwardly standing in the corner. Futaba pulled up her legs and motioned for him to sit. Slowly he joined her and as soon as he looked comfortable Futaba tossed him the controller. With a very wide grin, "Let's start the game.”  
Inari spent way to much time with cold feet on the title screen but eventually he pressed start and the gibberish language of the opening sequence began to play. He kept useless pressing buttons as if he expected something else and then offered it back to Futaba.

"It appears to be broken." Inari looked slightly guilty. Futaba sighed to resist the urge to groan.  
"Its a cutscene, in older games there un-skippable. You just have to wait and appreciate the story." Inari made an Oh sound then get up.  
"What are you doing?" Futaba didn't think playing a video game could be this complicated. 

"Restarting it, I did not properly understand, thus I need to restart it to comprehend it better." Futaba nodded and watched as Inari trial and errored his way into restarting the Ps2. Once that debacle ended, he rejoined her on the couch. Inari leaned forward intently examining the games brushwork animation. He was so invested in it that when the gameplay actually started a look of confusion crossed his face. Like a bird he pecked at the buttons, with one hand and moved the joystick with the other. Inari bit his lip as he tried his best to focus. While that was kind of cute, it was also wrong and honestly starting to bug her because there were better ways.

"Okay, here's a lesson from Futaba-sensei.” Futaba interrupted his attempts at attacking. She held up a controller and demonstrated proper controller use. Inari frowned and after a few failures he seemed to give up.  
"Come on, did you hold a brush properly the first time? Sometimes there is a learning curve and you just have to muscle your way through it." That encouragement seemed to hit a nerve because with more determination this time he picked up the controller. Slowly, he got a decent grip and began to move with far more fluidity. Eventually, the wolf began to run and make its way through the colorful world of Okami. Once the brush mechanics began to be introduced, it took him far too many attempts to make a circle but eventually he succeeded to bring out the sun. After that he shook out his hands and Futaba decided that was a good enough attempt for a first try. 

"Well, young padawan let's take a curry break, cause boy am I starved." She yawned and stretched out her cramped limbs before turning toward the stairs.  
"Padawan? Whats that?" Inari innocently asked.  
"What! HAVE YOU NOT SEEN STAR WARS?" Futaba knew Inari lacked some pop culture knowledge but she thought he at least knew the basics. His head shook and Futaba ran down the stairs so fast she nearly tripped but luckily her balance was getting better.  
"Sojiro! It's an emergency, Where did you put my Star Wars blu-rays?" Sojiro looked up from his dish washing and blinked before stroking his beard.  
"I think there under the tv still." Futaba nodded and immediately planned her route.

"Good, I need them two things of curry and some popcorn." With that she was out the door on a quest to rectify this tragedy. It was slightly terrifying buying the popcorn but in record speed she had everything she needed. When the bell of Leblanc signaled her arrival, Futaba found an interesting scene Inari and Sojiro were chatting so intently they didn’t notice her arrival.  
“Curry, is the curry done?” Sojiro gave her a look and signaled toward the pot on the stove with a flame that was barely there.  
“It was done before you asked and I’ve been keeping your portion warm.” She opened the pot and say a perfectly serviceable amount of curry. Though it was obvious the pot started out much more full. Well either way, curry was curry. She loaded up her plate and then handed the popcorn to Sojiro.  
She mixed the curry into three portions and proceeded to pour it down her throat. The shocked and horrified look’s she got were unimportant.There were more important things that needed to be done. Sojiro slid the bowl of popcorn over the counter to her with a smile. 

“Have fun on your date kids.” Futaba shook her head.  
“This isn’t a date. It’s an education.” With that she grabbed Inari’s hand and marched up the stairs. Futaba began to set up the room for a long movie night with a practiced and calculated efficiency. Just to be sure there would be no interruptions, she pulled out her phone checked the time  


**Akira, don’t come home tonight**  


**Why?**  


**I need your tv for at least 6 hours**  


**Again I ask why?**  


**Because I need to educate Yusuke**  
**…**  


**You do know how that sounds right?**  


**Don’t care. He hasn’t seen star wars this is MAJOR PROBLEM**  


**okay well I need to sleep there but i’ll let you stay if your quiet I guess**  


**Just sleep at Ryuji’s, I know you want to ;)**  


**…Im ending this conversation now.**

With that final complication out of the way, she once motioned for Inari to sit, slipped in the dvd and took her spot on the couch beside him.  
“Welcome to a galaxy far far way,” Futaba said right as she pressed play and the opening them hit Inari for the first time with its grand overture.  
“This text is going by very fast is it not important?” Futaba cocked her head and bit her lip.  
“Eh, it is if your interested in the expanded material but honestly most people don’t bother reading it.” Inari’s face scrunched up in confusion.  
“Then why include it if-“ Futaba silenced him with a shushing sound, “The real plots about to start.” Thankfully, he managed to stop talking before Vader’s cape flapped onto the screen. They sat in silence until around entrance to the death star scene.

Inari broke the silence with “I don’t think I understand this.” Futaba reeled back and blinked at him.  
“What do you mean?” Inari clasped his hands together and explained.  
“Games I now understand can be art, I suppose but this movie doesn’t seem to be something I’d consider anything close to art.” After that bomb Futaba could only gasp and stare. Inari almost looked apologetic at her reaction but she ignored that and turned back to the screen. As a hanger came onto screen she remembered a fact.  
“Did you know that a lot of those background and ship shots are really paintings?” Futaba pointed at the screen. This time it was Inari’s turn to reel back and blink. 

“Really?” Futaba not being one who enjoyed being doubted paused the movie before pulling up results online of artists meticulously painting ships, stormtroopers and other space themed things. Much like the art book from earlier in the day this seemed to shock him. Inari didn’t protest when she restarted the movie in fact he leaned closer examining it far more intensely then before. It was as if now he had a goal to spot every piece of art the movie had to offer. Which was a little weird but that phrase applied to Inari in most situations really. A New Hope finished with only a few more comments, and quickly Futaba started The Empire Strikes Back. 

As Leia, Han and Lando talked Inari finally spoke. “Between the pilot or the friend which reminds you of Akira more?” Futaba considered for a moment.  
“Han…The pilot, both he and Akira think they are cool but really their are dorks who are trying to impress their crush…Though the other one does share his not so secret love of dramatic capes.” Inari made a sound in agreement and turned his focus back to the movie. 

A few scenes later he gasped and whispered, “Definitely the pilot, Akira would never betray his friends like that.” Futaba smirked as Inari watched the movie even more intently then before. He frowned as Han was frozen in carbonate and said the signature line. Futaba spent most of the movie watching his face, it was great. The way he reacted in small but obvious ways to the movies events. It was fun and she imagined doing it more but cut off that thought and reminded herself that the only reason she was watching was because of the twist coming up. NOTHING ELSE…. especially not how nice Inari’s face looked when concentrating, a traitorous tiny voice whispered. Futaba shook that thought out of her head just in time because the scene was starting. She watched as Luke hung there and Vader began his offer along with the revelations that followed. Finally, Vader said the words “I Am Your Father!” Inari gasped and his mouth hung open as Luke screamed no. He barely seemed to notice the rest of the ending as that twist slowly worked it’s way through his brain.  
“But, he did such..” Inari whispered as the credits began. Futaba patted him on the arm.

“You need a minute to digest before the finale?” Inari shook his head, “No, I need to know how it ends now.” Futaba smiled.  
“Now thats my kinda answer.” Without an other pause she started The Return of the Jedi. Inari recovered not long after they landed on the moon of Endor mostly due to his befuddlement about the Ewok’s appearance. 

“Aw Cannibalistic teddy bears, my favorite kind of fluff.” Futaba poked fun at his confused face and it was worth it because the shocked look he gave her in response was hilarious. Though the actions scenes were great they finally arrived at the final big moment. Luke’s confrontation. Futaba repositioned herself as silently as possible to get the best view of Inari’s face as the scene began to play. His body scrunched up tighter as Luke was tortured and begged his father to make it stop. Inari’s widened and his arm reached out as Vader grabbed the emperor and through him down into a dark abyss. A contemplative frown settled on his face after than as he watched Luke drag Vader out. Inari whispered something as Vader took off his mask and died in peace but Futaba couldn’t catch it even this close.

As the final credits began to play the expression didn’t leave his face. “So what did you think of it?” Futaba did her best to seem nonchalant as possible. Inari took a second to compose himself before replying. “The story got more enjoyable as it went on but the ending still confuses me.” Futaba had heard many different opinions about this series but that was the first time she’d heard that one voiced. 

“What about it confused you?” Futaba tried to keep any shock or judgment out of her voice as she spoke.  
“His father did such horrible things but in the end the movie seemed to not acknowledge that and gave him a fond farewell” Futaba honestly hadn’t thought about that much.  
“I think it wasn’t about necessarily about ignoring the bad things he did but how he still loved his son enough to save him and um that moment earned Vader his son’s forgiveness.” Inari was so quiet she almost apologized because something she said obviously caused this. He spoke up before she could though, “This was surprisingly enlightening, you are right I am lacking in knowledge.” Futaba chuckled. 

"Maybe we should do this again sometime." Inari suggested then paused.

“Though it may be awhile as I need to research my next art piece.” Well that was important but this was fun so what to do? An idea entered Futaba’s head.  
“We could trade!” Inari blinked at her, “What?”  
“We could trade knowledge you teach about your art stuff and I’ll teach about my nerd stuff.” Inari stroked him chin as he processed the information and then nodded.  
“That could be satisfactory.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was a Secret Santa gift that spiraled out of control, anyway hope you enjoy it.


End file.
